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Fact SheetUpdate March 200414. Assuring QualityThe international reputation of Australia’s higher education sector must be maintained to ensure our graduates have world-class skills to compete in the global economy and to protect and grow our position in the international education export market, which is currently valued at $5 billion. Given the expanded choice that will be available to prospective students as a result of the higher education reforms, it is imperative that information about the relative strengths of higher education providers be readily accessible. Employers should also have access to information about the capabilities of recent graduates. Overseas AuditsThe Australian Government currently contributes to the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) under a MCEETYA formula for State/Territories/ Commonwealth contributions. The AUQA is charged with conducting “whole of institution” audits that include the international operations of higher education providers. Most Australian higher education providers have international activities, and increasingly, these are being offered off-shore in several countries. Significant future growth in international operations is likely to take place off-shore. From 2005, the Australian Government will commission the AUQA to conduct audits of overseas higher education provision by Australian providers on a whole-of-country basis. The audits will be on a cyclical basis and the reports produced will be made available for consultation in the context of domestic institutional audits where relevant. This initiative, underpinned by funding of $600,000 per year, will assure the continued quality of Australian higher education provision in the international market. Enhancements to the Graduate Destination Survey and Course Experience QuestionnaireThe Australian Government currently has a contract with the Graduate Careers Council of Australia (GCCA) to conduct the Graduate Destination Survey (GDS) and Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and to publish outcomes data in both hard copy and electronic form. The data serve three main purposes - providing national accountability for the sector, ensuring quality and performance management within higher education providers and informing student choice. As well as maintaining funding for the GDS and CEQ, the Australian Government is also providing funding for a number of enhancements associated with the surveys. These include improving electronic delivery and publication of the results and supporting a project which will improve the GCCA survey methodology. An Evaluations and Investigations Project to develop software specifically to analyse the open-ended written comments from the CEQ was funded in 2002. Additional funding for dissemination of this software to all Australian universities and continuing support for users has now been approved. Enhancement of the Graduate Skills AssessmentThe Graduate Skills Assessment instrument has been developed for the Australian Government by the Australian Council for Educational Research to test generic skills of graduates in the domains of logical thinking, critical reasoning, written communication and interpersonal understanding. The test is administered twice each year; once for entry and once for exit. There is also a potential market for out-of-cycle tests to be run for specific purposes for higher education providers and employers. The Australian Government will provide $270,000 per year from 2005 to promote the test to employers and support its use in selection processes. Employers and graduates will initially benefit from broader use of the GSA as a standard recruitment tool. As usage expands, the Australian Government will be able to collect valuable information on the quality of higher education as measured by graduate skills. Contact DetailsMedia inquiries:Virginia Cook Other inquiries:Overseas Audits, Graduate Destination Survey and Course Experience
Questionnaire Graduate Skills Assessment Email: Backing Australia's Future
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Any comments or
queries should be sent to:
highered@dest.gov.au
Department of Education, Science and Training
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